Reconfigurable intelligent surface, communication method using the reconfigurable intelligent surface, and transceiver device including the reconfigurable intelligent surface

Abstract

Provided are a reconfigurable intelligent surface, a communication method using the reconfigurable intelligent surface, and a transceiver device including the reconfigurable intelligent surface. The reconfigurable intelligent surface may include a plurality of unit cells arranged in a mesh form, a beam steering module electrically connected to the plurality of unit cells, and at least one sensing module electrically connected to the plurality of unit cells, wherein the plurality of unit cells may include a plurality of reflection unit cells configured to reflect at least one signal incident thereon in a direction set by the beam steering module, and a plurality of sensing unit cells configured to obtain phase information of the at least one signal and transmit the phase information to the at least one sensing module.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A reconfigurable intelligent surface comprising:
 a plurality of unit cells arranged in a mesh form;   a beam steering module electrically connected to the plurality of unit cells; and   at least one sensing module electrically connected to the plurality of unit cells,   wherein the plurality of unit cells comprise:   a plurality of reflection unit cells configured to reflect at least one signal incident thereon in a direction set by the beam steering module; and   a plurality of sensing unit cells configured to obtain phase information of the at least one signal and transmit the phase information to the at least one sensing module.   
     
     
         2 . The reconfigurable intelligent surface of  claim 1 , wherein each of the plurality of unit cells comprises:
 a first substrate;   a second substrate facing the first substrate; and   at least one via wall passing through at least a portion of the first substrate and the second substrate.   
     
     
         3 . The reconfigurable intelligent surface of  claim 2 , wherein each of the plurality of unit cells further comprises at least one patch arranged over the second substrate. 
     
     
         4 . The reconfigurable intelligent surface of  claim 3 , wherein the at least one patch is configured to transmit the at least one signal to the at least one sensing module through a sensing line. 
     
     
         5 . The reconfigurable intelligent surface of  claim 4 , wherein each of the plurality of unit cells further comprises at least one varactor diode arranged over the at least one patch. 
     
     
         6 . A communication method using a reconfigurable intelligent surface, the communication method comprising:
 receiving, by the reconfigurable intelligent surface, at least one beam incident thereon at different phases;   obtaining, by the reconfigurable intelligent surface, phase information by sensing the at least one beam by using a plurality of sensing unit cells;   converting, by the reconfigurable intelligent surface, the phase information into an image and training a position estimation model by using the image;   estimating, by the reconfigurable intelligent surface, position information of a transceiver by using the trained position estimation model;   reflecting, by the reconfigurable intelligent surface, the at least one beam incident thereon to the transceiver by inputting the estimated position information of the transceiver to a processor; and   applying, by the reconfigurable intelligent surface, a bias voltage in accordance with a propagation environment of the at least one beam.   
     
     
         7 . The communication method of  claim 6 , wherein the obtaining of the phase information comprises:
 obtaining a plurality of phase values from the plurality of sensing unit cells, respectively;   obtaining a phase difference value between adjacent unit cells based on the plurality of phase values; and   obtaining distribution data of the phase difference value based on a plurality of angle values at which a user terminal is possibly located.   
     
     
         8 . The communication method of  claim 7 , wherein the training of the position estimation model comprises converting the distribution data into the image. 
     
     
         9 . The communication method of  claim 8 , wherein the training of the position estimation model further comprises:
 using at least a portion of the image to train the position estimation model; and   using the other portion of the image to test the trained position estimation model.   
     
     
         10 . The communication method of  claim 9 , wherein the training of the position estimation model further comprises:
 configuring a convolutional neural network (CNN) in the position estimation model;   training the image by an input of the convolutional neural network; and   training the position information of the transceiver by an output of the convolutional neural network.   
     
     
         11 . A transceiver device comprising:
 a beam generator configured to generate a beam for transmitting/receiving a radio frequency (RF) band signal;   an RF processor configured to upconvert a baseband signal into the RF band signal and transmit the RF band signal through the beam generator or to downconvert the RF band signal received through the beam generator into the baseband signal; and   a baseband processor configured to perform a conversion function between the baseband signal and digital data,   wherein the beam generator comprises:   an antenna configured to transmit/receive the RF band signal; and   a reconfigurable intelligent surface configured to adjust a direction of the beam,   wherein the reconfigurable intelligent surface is further configured to receive at least one beam incident thereon at different phases,   obtain phase information from the at least one beam,   train a position estimation model by using an image obtained by converting the phase information,   estimate position information of a transceiver by using the trained position estimation model,   reflect the at least one beam incident thereon to the transceiver by inputting the estimated position information of the transceiver to a processor, and   apply a bias voltage in accordance with a propagation environment of the at least one beam.   
     
     
         12 . The transceiver device of  claim 11 , wherein the reconfigurable intelligent surface is further configured to
 obtain a plurality of phase values,   obtain a phase difference value between adjacent unit cells based on the plurality of phase values, and   obtain distribution data of the phase difference value based on a plurality of angle values at which a user terminal is possibly located.   
     
     
         13 . The transceiver device of  claim 12 , wherein the reconfigurable intelligent surface is further configured to convert the distribution data into the image. 
     
     
         14 . The transceiver device of  claim 13 , wherein the reconfigurable intelligent surface is further configured to
 use at least a portion of the image to train the position estimation model, and   use the other portion of the image to test the trained position estimation model.   
     
     
         15 . The transceiver device of  claim 14 , wherein the reconfigurable intelligent surface is further configured to
 configure a convolutional neural network (CNN) in the position estimation model,   train the image by an input of the convolutional neural network, and   train the position information of the transceiver by an output of the convolutional neural network.